6.2 Timber Import Procedures, Theory and Practice
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Part A: Global Witness Research and Investigations in China 2006-09 / 6 The Burma-China Timber Trade 6.2 Timber import procedures, theory from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. According to and practice Chinese law (see ‘A Choice for China’, pages 23-24), Chinese Customs and the AQSIQ require that all 6.2.1 The procedure in Burma timber imports are accompanied by a valid certificate, issued by the competent authorities in the country of According to the Planning and Statistics Department origin, stating the country of origin. A valid quarantine of the Myanmar Ministry of Forestry, the following certificate from the country of origin is also required. steps must be followed in order to obtain permission However, none of the hundreds of people involved in to import timber through the land border to China: the trade along the China-Burma border (including customs officials), interviewed by Global Witness, 1. Companies need to receive permission to claim to have heard about such certificates.321 purchase timber, and make a sales contract, from According to people interviewed on the border, the Ministry of Forestry. international trade can be classified as either ‘damao’ 2. To obtain a border pass, permission from the (country to country trade), frontier trade (trade on a Defence Services (Army) and Trade Council must small scale between residents on both sides of the be received. border) or border area trade with, “characteristics of the 3. It is necessary to apply for an export permit from region, ethnicity, and tradition”. The cross-border the Department of Border Trade. timber (and minerals) trade with Burma is treated as 4. An inspection team must be formed under the frontier trade and, as such, is not subject to the same authority of the commander of the border area documentary requirements as ‘damao’. command comprising the Customs Department, Upon arrival of the timber at the border, customs the Department of Immigration and Manpower, should check that the company has the valid paperwork the Department of Border Trade, the Department from Ministry of Commerce. Customs should then issue of Forestry, and the district SPDC. import permits for the appropriate amount of timber, 5. Necessary work for exporting across the border after payment of the required tax. The AQSIQ issues a must be carried out under supervision of the Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine Inspection Team.8 certificate following spot-checks on the goods. The SFA verifies the timber as non-domestic, taxes it, and issues 6.2.2 The procedure in China The following Chinese government agencies are all involved, in theory, with clearing Burmese timber for importation and its onward transportation in China: Chinese Customs, the Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Ministry of Commerce, the State Forest Administration (SFA) and the Border Defence Brigade. All Chinese companies involved in international trade must acquire a permit to trade in foreign goods Official timber import procedure, Car Zan, China; 2009 Official timber import procedure, Nabang, China; 2007 A DISHARMONIOUS TRADE 16 Part A: Global Witness Research and Investigations in China 2006-09 / 6 The Burma-China Timber Trade legal requirements and many are completely unaware of the relevant procedures. As a result they are not implemented uniformly by the different Chinese government agencies overseeing the timber trade along the China-Burma border. Despite significant improvements, timber is still allowed to cross the border illegally in many places. Much of the initial confusion seems to have derived from a distinction between ‘border-to- border’ trade and ‘country-to-country’ trade. Many local officials, enforcement agencies, and traders alike have viewed the cross-border timber trade between Burma and China as ‘border-to-border’ trade. This is normally a category used for small-scale trade conducted by locals and, therefore, apparently not subject to the normal (‘country-to-country’ trade) customs and import clearance procedures.46 The Border Defence Brigade is tasked with ensuring security along the border, controlling border checkpoints,c1 and investigating crimes related to the timber trade, such as smuggling and corruption. It is not clear in all instances why it does not stop the smuggling. However, in some places it is not considered to be their responsibility. The work of the Timber transportation certificate, Dehong Prefecture; December 2006 brigade is complicated by the fact that several (mainly the required transportation certificate. This allows for an unofficial) border crossings do not have permanent exact, recorded, amount of timber to be transported units stationed there. In other places, the brigade’s within the prefecture or province. Transportation checkpoints are several kilometres from the border. beyond the provincial boundary is normally cleared in This allows traders to move timber into China and to Kunming. These documents must all be shown upon store it between the border and the checkpoint. request to the officials from the Border Defence Brigade, In some instances, timber has ended up as ‘dead which has several toll gates along the major highway stock’, stuck in the border towns, without any from the border to Kunming.44 immediate prospect of it being cleared. Many The 11 May 2006 Interim Measures added further companies, faced with this predicament, have used hurdles for the would-be timber importer to pass. old certificates and certificates for domestic timber, Prior to this, timber could, for example, be imported smuggled the timber and otherwise tried to avoid into the Ruili area and transported out of Dehong detection (see ‘6.3 Snake business’, opposite). Prefecture accompanied solely by certificates easily Patchy implementation of the moratorium and obtainable from the SFA. Now, customs certificates Interim Measures reflects, in part, the difficulty are also required, if they can be obtained at all.45 It is experienced by provincial and central government the issuing of customs, QSIQ, and SFA certificates authorities in realising policy at a local level, often in that has been stopped in many border towns remote areas, as expressed in a well-known Chinese following the March 2006 suspension order and later saying: “The sky is high and the emperor is far Interim Measures. Without the appropriate away.” The companies, often with the support of documentation the timber cannot be legally imported local officials reliant on the timber industry for much into China or transported further inland. of their income, try continually to evade the It is essential to define clearly and communicate provincial enforcement agencies. the procedures and documentary requirements for It should be noted that while the violations are importing Burmese timber into China to the relevant widespread, overall timber imports are still significantly authorities and timber traders. The Interim lower than before. It should also be stressed that Measures, at least, are available on the Yunnan despite reports of corruption and negligent behaviour Province government website. However, it is not of some local officials and enforcement agencies, clear to timber traders and officials on the border import procedures and enforcement have improved how exactly the Interim Measures interact with other dramatically since May 2006. c1 In a few places, such as Tse Tse, the People’s Liberation Army is stationed near the border and controls the checkpoints. 17 A DISHARMONIOUS TRADE Part A: Global Witness Research and Investigations in China 2006-09 / 6 The Burma-China Timber Trade 6.3 Snake business: getting around the ban 6.3.1 Bribery and corruption and new timber importation rules “Don’t worry about proper procedures. We can arrange it 48 “The closure does not matter to us. There is always a way to all for you. If you bring money, then business is simple.” solve a problem naturally.” Employee at leading timber processing Timber businessman, Sudien, Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, company in Ruili, Dehong Prefecture, April 2006 May 2006 Smuggling and other scams to transport timber Many timber traders have suggested to Global across the China-Burma border, and further inland, Witness that bribery has played a role in getting local are often elaborate, but most are easy to detect. officials and enforcement agencies to look the other Such schemes have developed rapidly since the way, or as one businessman put it, “Money makes imposition of the moratorium and the publication things go smoothly and the timber business makes of the Interim Measures. Prior to this the smuggling money.”49 These allegations were widespread but of timber was not widespread as it could be rarely concrete in terms of naming individuals or imported from Burma unhindered by the specific government offices. Most commonly, traders authorities. alluded to the fact that despite the moratorium and Transporting timber via roads without official new rules they could still get timber through checkpoints, and at night, are the most prevalent checkpoints, and obtain the relevant permits, upon methods of smuggling timber across the China- payment of a higher ‘fee’. Global Witness could not Burma border. According to one Kachin timber verify these allegations which were most persistent in trader, if you can show an export licence from the Tengchong County, Baoshan Prefecture, and in the Burmese authorities you can get through on the Yingjiang area of Dehong Prefecture. China side, but the Chinese, “don’t check strictly if it Local people spoken to by Global Witness is correct”. Many use fake export licences.47 These claimed that corruption and ‘guanxi’c2 were the main practices, which traders revealed to Global Witness reasons why night-time timber smuggling was researchers without much hesitation, are an open possible in Guyong, Baoshan Prefecture.9, 67, 68 One secret in many places. The sections below outline the local person told Global Witness, “I am confused if most common ploys. the border is open or not.